ROSE BUD -- Rose Bud Lady Ramblers Coach Bradley Moss said the matchup against Tuckerman was worrisome.
"Tuckerman is a good, solid four seed, and they have some great guards," Moss said. "At times, they have been a tough matchup for us."
Not so much Wednesday.
Rose Bud raced to a quick lead in the first half behind stellar three-point shooting and finished off Tuckerman 79-48 in a first round 3A-2 Region tournament game at Rose Bud.
The Lady Ramblers began the defense of their regional championship behind 29 points from senior shooting guard Savannah Lacy.
The game didn't quite play out the way Tuckerman Coach Chad Soden had hoped.
"We want to make it hard for them [Rose Bud] to get a third victory over us," Soden said. "They beat us twice in the regular season by double digits each time, but the games, I felt, were a lot closer than the final scores reflected."
The Lady Ramblers hit 14 three-pointers in the game, six in the first quarter alone. Lacy knocked down five.
Tuckerman drained nine threes, four by freshman guard Sydney Smith and three by Taylor Hulett.
The game was decided at halftime with Rose Bud holding a 48-22 advantage.
Midway through the third quarter, the Lady Ramblers went up 59-29 and closed out the quarter leading 67-42.
"You know it is hard to beat the same team three times in one season," Moss said. "But we are going to play our best."
Rose Bud's Maria Barrios and Kaitlyn Smith each added 12 points, while Jenna Hipp and Gracie Hartle added nine points each.
Hulett led Tuckerman with 13 points while Smith added 10 and Reagan Camp finished with 8 points.
Rose Bud (20-9) returns Friday to face the Harding Academy/Glen Rose winner at 4 p.m. in the semifinals.
A year ago, after winning the regional title, Rose Bud suffered a first-round loss in the Class 3A state tournament. The Lady Ramblers returned three starters from that team.
"We were a seasoned team I feel like this year, but it has also been a different team," Moss said. "Last year we pushed the tempo every chance we had. This year we have slowed our game just a bit."
Sports on 02/22/2018